Dozens of homes in a newly built subdivision in Arnprior have thousands of dollars in damage after multiple power outages fried their appliances.
Everyone in the Marshall’s Bay Meadows subdivision off Madawaska Boulevard moved in less than a year ago. Resident Mike Newton says he has lost several appliances.
“We lost our furnace, our air conditioner, our dishwasher and some minor lighting in the house,” Newton tells CTV News.
“I’ve heard that people have lost as much as their hot tubs and refrigerators, so there’s been significant damage to people’s property.”
At least three citywide power outages occurred in Arnprior between Sunday evening and Monday evening.
Many in the area point to a possible explosion at a nearby power pole. First-time homeowner Jake Dunn backs his property to Madawaska Boulevard, where the hydro poles are located.
“It sounded like two shotgun blasts,” Dunn recalls. “The power went out once, it came back on, it went out again, and then I looked out the back window and it looked like a firework went off over one of the water lines . There were sparks everywhere.”
Dunn is in a similar situation to Newton, his furnace and air conditioner fried.
“When I called yesterday to schedule the appointment, I was told that it was house number 37 in the neighborhood that was experiencing this problem,” says Dunn.
“It’s a brand new neighborhood, it really shouldn’t be something we have to worry about.”
Homeowners are being told to reimburse their appliances through insurance, labeling power outages and power surges as an act of God.
Now questions are being raised after the city lost power three times in twenty-four hours.
“The city is a Hydro One customer, just like everyone else,” says Councilwoman Lisa McGee.
“It’s almost impossible to find solutions without understanding what happened in the first place.”
In a statement to CTV News, Hydro One says Sunday night’s power outage that affected approximately 7,090 people was due to a broken arm on a main power line.
An outage Monday afternoon that affected about 12,380 people is still under investigation.
Newton says he was told repairs to his appliances could take weeks, and replacements even longer.
“I’ve lived in Pakenham, Almonte and Braeside,” he says, “and I’ve had no disruptions like this.”